Does providing CO2= must dose fert?

[hebi]

as stated in the title, im still abit confuse with this issue. i know dosing is normally done when growth is fast so plants take up nutrients faster, hence dosing is needed. but is this true for all plants? what about plants like moss or crypt?

[hebi]

erm can anyone answer my question? please..

[PeterGwee]

Yes. There is no way you can provide enough N and P plus other nutrients via fish waste since the growth rate is amplified. Read plant physiology if you want to know why.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[hebi]

so am i right so say chances of encountering algae problem is high if i were to provide CO2 and yet not dose fert?

[Shadow]

It is more complex than that.

First you need to look at your light. Lower light means plant will grow slow, nutrient intake slow thus it will do without dossing. Once you increase the light intensity, plant grow faster, thus need more nutrient to build their mass.

Provide CO2 and yet not dose fert does not necessary cause algae problem, depending on the light intensity.

[jacian]

Nutrients intake can be from the water column or the substrate. For rooted plants, you may not need to dose water column fert if you have a nutrients rich substrate. I do not think providing CO2 without dosing fert will increase the chance of algae but my question to you will be why do you want to provide CO2 in the first place, because you have high lights or because you want faster plant growth?

[Shadow]

I guess it would be best if you list down your setup.

[hebi]

my setup will be just moss and white sand, planning to make it simple and low maintenance. lighting will be 108W( 3 36W PL) over around 20 gallon(81litres), and my reason for providing CO2 is because of the high lights, and also because i want faster plant growth. moss grows so slow...haha

[illumnae]

having 5+WPG lights and CO2 is an invitation for algae if you're only going to have moss. if you want the tank to be low maintenance as you claim, i'd suggest having just 1 36W PL over your tank, no CO2 and no ferts. use spiky or java moss if you want faster moss growth.

[hebi]

ok thanks illumnae. think i will do that, and yea i have been planning to use only spiky and java moss for the whole scape.

[jacian]

Providing CO2 in this case will not resolve the issue of your high lights. Best is as per illumnae suggested to cut the lights.

[illumnae]

don't worry about slow growth with those 2 mosses my spiky moss is overrunning my tank, and i'm running 1.4WPG with no CO2 and no ferts

[medicineman]

Additional tips : dont stock the tank with too much critters and clean your gravel/filter on regular basis.

Slow uptake means too much bio load will quickly alter your water parameters. Do not want to have those hair algae on moss.

Then, if you can, keep the temp low. 24C will do. This will slow down the metabolism a bit while is in the range of temp moss like. Make it even lower maintenance.

Cutting off light in this case is a must. CO2 injection is an option, and may be needed only in very small amount (best if you have other slow but more demanding plants to accompany).

[barmby]

Little light and cold water goes a long way in growing moss. in fact cold water is critical to the success of a moss tank.

[hebi]

not possible for my tank to get to 24C with just an ac fan, and will not be getting a chiller anytime soon. lowest it can get is 25C so far.

actually i do have a huge bucket of mosquito fern ready to be 'deployed' once the tank is set up to suck up excess nutrients. regarding fauna, im still thinking what to do with the lazy fat golden algae eater cant imagine if i release it into the tank and it just kick up all the sand.